13. AT&T Buying Time Warner For $85.4 Billion

In October telecommunications giant AT&T struck a deal to acquire media and entertainment powerhouse Time Warner in a move to add more content, including television and streaming services, to its core connectivity services.

Under the blockbuster agreement, AT&T will pay $85.4 billion in cash and stock to buy Time Warner. AT&T, like other service providers, finds itself competing more often with content providers such as Netflix, Google and Facebook. Verizon, also looking to expand into content, already owns media provider AOL and has a deal to buy Yahoo for $4.83 billion.

The proposed merger is sure to be closely scrutinized by government regulators, and Wall Street has only given the deal a 40 percent chance of winning regulatory approval.